by Jeanette Winterson
review by Emma
I have discovered that when I read Jeanette Winterson I struggle, almost refuse, to feel a connection with her and her writing. At least to begin with. When I picked up this book, for the first few chapters I felt underwhelmed, disappointed, and guilty. Why don’t I get it? I should get it. Others get it. I was reminded of how I felt when I started reading ‘Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit’. I had forgotten how I felt when I finished reading it.
Perhaps it is me, or perhaps not. Perhaps there is something in her style, so seemingly matter of fact, emotionless on the surface, that fools you into thinking that’s what it is. It is not.
‘Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?’ is a deeply personal, touching factual fiction. It is her story, how she wanted to tell it. It is beautiful and it is heartbreaking. It is about life, passion, and love. Above all, it is about love. It is layered with emotion. On the surface, it might appear detached and afraid. But it is one of the bravest things I have ever read, full of loss and healing, longing and life.
Winterson is a wordsmith, and I use that word very deliberately. She grew up in the industrial north. Her working-class roots and connection with trade are evident in her ability to fashion stories in a manner akin to how a blacksmith fashions a sword. She moulds them, she makes them work to the best of their ability, and she wields and weaves them.
This book is about Winterson’s life, but it is so much more than an autobiography.
Book Details
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 12 April 2012
RRP: £8.99
ISBN: 978-0099556091
Synopsis: Taken from Vintage
In 1985 Jeanette Winterson’s first novel, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, was published. It was Jeanette’s version of the story of a terraced house in Accrington, an adopted child, and the thwarted giantess Mrs Winterson. It was a cover story, a painful past written over and repainted. It was a story of survival.
This book is that story’s the silent twin. It is full of hurt and humour and a fierce love of life. It is about the pursuit of happiness, about lessons in love, the search for a mother and a journey into madness and out again. It is generous, honest and true.
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